From the testimony of Rumia Sharabi of the Salem family from Yemen, on the kidnapping of her son David Hasan:

“1949. When we immigrated to Israel we were taken from the airplane straight to Ein Shemer. They came from the Jewish Agency and took all the children who had been on the plane for few hours, so that we could get organized. A few hours later when we had been settled in tents, they brought the children back. After a short stay in the tents, the nurses came and took the children on the claim that we did not know how to care for our children and that they would do it better.

They took my child; his name was David Hasan Salem. He was two years old. 1950. He was brought to a place called the nursery. I used to go every day to the nursery, take him home, play with him, care for him and wash his clothes, and in the evening bring him back there. On rainy days, I would come visit him without taking him home.

That year it snowed heavily for three days and we couldn’t visit him. When the snow stopped I went to see him and got there late. In that moment the children were eating, and they didn’t allow us -- the parents who came late -- to go in, because we had been late. It was myself and my sister. We walked around the building to the window to peek in so we could see him. Then I saw him, and I heard him asking a nurse for another cookie. He said to her: “More, more.” And she said “Enough! There isn’t any more.” I recall those words of his well until this day.

The next morning I came to visit him again, I and many other parents. The main door was shut and they were not letting anyone in. The other parents and I saw that it was closed, so we went around the building and there I ran into a doctor and he asked me “Who are you looking for?” I replied, “My son.” The doctor answered simply, “The child died” and added “All of the children who die are sent to the office.” After I heard that my child was dead, I screamed and cried and said that I wanted to see his body. The doctor kicked me out and said, “Get out of here.” I went to my husband, my siblings and family and told them the boy was dead.

The next day I went again to the office to which I’d been directed. They announced on the loudspeaker the names of the children who had died and called up the children’s parents. My son’s name was announced and I went to the office as I was summoned. I asked, “Where is the boy, what happened to him? You called his name.” I was told, “There is no boy!”

Eighteen years later when we were living in Ramat HaSharon we received a draft order for the child David Hasan Salem. We did not reply or contact the military. Some days later the military came to look for him, and we told them the story. Then we heard and read that there were other such children, and that searches for the lost Yemeni children had begun. We went to the police so that they would investigate and we brought his certificate of immigration with the details about the boy. The certificate is still with the police to this day, or maybe it got lost. They did not investigate and we have received no notifications or information to this day.

I hope that with your help we will be able to investigate the truth regarding of the fate of our son.”

--Nehorit Sharabi